Rangel Is in Talks to End Ethics Case

By

Devlin Barrett And

Brody Mullins

Updated July 29, 2010 12:01 a.m. ET

WASHINGTON—Negotiations between lawyers for Rep. Charles Rangel (D., N.Y.) and House ethics investigators continued on the eve of a public hearing Thursday that was expected to lay out the charges against him.

Since the ethics panel announced last week its plans to present a case against Mr. Rangel, his lawyers have been in private discussions about a possible settlement to avoid a hearing. A central issue is the wording of the House ethics panel's findings about Mr. Rangel's alleged ethics violations, according to a person familiar with the case.

The planned hearing could further harm the Harlem Democrat's legacy and his party's election prospects this year, as it is likely to make public the allegations that ethics investigators say they have found evidence to support.

For the past two years, Mr. Rangel has been adamant that while he has made honest mistakes, he never intentionally broke House rules.

Democrats have been privately and publicly urging Mr. Rangel to settle the case, and the 80-year-old lawmaker has said he hoped to do so.

New York Democratic Representative Charles Rangel is making a last-minute effort to settle his ethics case.

As he left a luncheon Wednesday celebrating the 100th anniversary of the National Urban League, Mr. Rangel sounded as if he was preparing to fight the ethics case in the House equivalent of a public trial.

"I have not heard anything from my lawyers at this point," said the lawmaker, who added he felt "some sense of relief that at long last we can talk about the allegations."

Mr. Rangel was warmly received at the event, a reminder that he still has broad support among segments of his party.

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While the House hearing is not a criminal proceeding, parts of the process would be similar to a court arraignment, where charges are presented and a schedule is set for proceeding with the case. Evidence would be heard by eight members of the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, as the ethics committee is formally known.

The actual trial phase of the proceedings likely wouldn't begin until September, when lawmakers return to Washington after their August recess. That raises the prospect of hearings appearing on television shortly before the November congressional elections.

There were few public developments in the case on the eve of the hearing. Most Democratic lawmakers said Wednesday that they would have little to say until they saw how the first day of the hearing played out. Members of the House ethics panel met privately Wednesday morning to discuss logistics.

Democrats for the most part said they were feeling little pressure to call for Mr. Rangel's departure because their constituents didn't seem concerned about the ethics investigation. Rep. Tom Perriello, a Virginia Democrat, said he wasn't asked a single question about Mr. Rangel during a series of meetings he held recently with voters in his district.

Dates of a Scandal

House investigators have laid out a series of ethics accusations against Democratic Rep. Charles Rangel. See key dates in the case.

That could change after Thursday. A number of House Democrats privately say that they could go public with their concerns about Mr. Rangel on Friday if they sense that the ethics hearings could turn ugly for Democrats. Republicans have been trying to turn the case into an indictment of Democratic leadership.

Republicans say that GOP members of the ethics committee will refuse to accept any plea agreement from Mr. Rangel that they view as soft on the former Ways and Means Committee chairman. That means that even if Mr. Rangel reaches a plea agreement, Republicans could reject it.

Any plea agreement must be approved by a majority vote of the ethics committee. There are five Republicans and five Democrats on the panel.

Mr. Rangel has served in Congress for nearly 40 years and is running for a 21st term. So far, the ethics charges have not significantly hurt his popularity in his northern Manhattan district. He has a handful of primary opponents, but none with a large campaign account or widespread popularity.

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